Thank God for Caffeine

When I finally fell asleep, I didn't sleep well, but I also didn't have any nightmares.  I'll take what I can get.  Even so, morning came way too soon, and I jumped when Brody gently shook me awake a mere couple of hours after we'd finally fallen asleep.  "Sorry," he said.  "We should get up if you're going to work."

"I'm going to work," I mumbled sleepily.  I stretched and almost fell off the couch, forgetting we were still there.  I groaned and rolled my neck as I sat up.  "You didn't have to spend the night on the couch with me," I said apologetically.  I felt bad, knowing that he probably slept even less than I did.

"You actually slept a little," he replied.  "I didn't want to disturb you and blow your shot at getting any sleep."

"Thank you," I said, managing a sleepy smile.  I went upstairs to shower, electing not to wash my hair to save some effort in the getting ready process.  Unfortunately, no amount of makeup could camouflage my complete lack of sleep, but I did the best I could to make myself look awake.

Brody showered and got dressed while I got ready, and when I got downstairs he handed me coffee, a banana, and a granola bar.  "Breakfast," he declared.  "Sorry, that's the best I can do this morning."

"This is perfect," I assured him.  "I don't expect you to make me breakfast, you know."

"I know you don't," he replied as we walked towards the door together.  "But I like making breakfast.  And I know you appreciate it and don't expect it, which makes me enjoy making it even more.  I just didn't have it in me this morning."

"I don't think I have much of anything in me this morning," I admitted.  "Today is going to be rough."  To punctuate this, I yawned.

We had a quiet drive into town, both of us too tired to talk much.  I kissed Brody goodbye when he dropped me off.  He promised to pick me up at lunchtime and take me to get my car.  I made my way into the office, greeting our administrative assistant on my way back to my office.

Shortly after I got settled, Josh came into my office to check on our plan for him to introduce me to the client he hoped to transition to me.  I confirmed the time with him.  He looked at me and said, "Rough night?"  His tone was sympathetic instead of snarky.

"Something like that," I replied.

"I was heading out to grab some coffee, do you want something?  Or want to come along?"

I considered this.  I didn't really want to go anywhere with Josh, but I really wanted some more coffee.  I didn't trust him enough to let him bring something back for me.  And I had a lot of restless, nervous energy.  A quick walk would probably do me some good.  I glanced at the clock and saw I had 45 minutes until my first client.  "Sure, I'll come," I agreed.  He looked surprised, but quickly stepped out of my doorway so I could get out of my office.

"Trouble in paradise?" he asked as we walked.

I snorted.  "Not at all," I replied.  "Something else entirely.  And no, I'm not going to tell you about it."

"Wasn't going to ask," he responded smoothly.  He spent the rest of the walk filling me in on how often he was seeing the client he was transferring and what they'd been working on.  When we got to the coffee shop, I ordered a large dirty chai and waited impatiently for it.  I wrinkled my nose when Josh ordered a dark roast coffee.

Our trip back to the office was uneventful.  I was happy for more caffeine, and was slowly waking up enough that I wouldn't be completely useless today.  I powered through the morning, and around 12:30 Brody came and got me.  We were going to have lunch together and then he was going to take me to get my car before I headed back to the office.

"Anywhere specific you want to go?" Brody asked when I got in his car.  I shook my head and shut my eyes, which were heavy and scratchy despite the amounts of caffeine I'd consumed.  "How long do you have?"

"My next client isn't until 2," I replied.  "So as long as you have, really."

Brody drove to one of our favorite restaurants and found a place to park.  "I'm not feeling work today, and it looks like you're not feeling anything, so we might as well take a long lunch," he said.

"Sounds great to me," I agreed.  We took our time and enjoyed our lunch before Brody brought me back to his office, where I picked up my car.  I drove back to work, getting there about 10 minutes before my next client.  The long lunch break (plus some more caffeine in the form of two large glasses of Coke) helped me recharge and I felt much better, which is good.  I hate being off my game at work, it's not really fair to my clients.

I was still relieved when my workday was over.  I decided to go to the gym to work off some of my nervous energy.  It definitely helped, and I felt a lot more relaxed after.  When I got home, I wasn't surprised to find the house empty.  I took a quick shower and made a simple dinner, then put the leftovers away in the fridge when I was done.  After cleaning up my dinner making mess, I looked around for something else to do, but the house was clean.

I read until Brody got home, then I sat with him while he ate.  We decided to go for a short walk before it got dark, and when we got back we watched TV on the couch together for a little while before we went to bed.  We were both tired from not sleeping the night before.  I was nervous that I wouldn't sleep again, or would have nightmares, but aside from restlessly waking up a few times, I slept okay.

Brody had taken Friday off work to go up to the cabin, and we'd decided to leave for the cabin Thursday evening.  That way we could start our mini vacation right away, sleep in Friday, and not have to worry about getting up to leave.  Brody said he probably wouldn't be home until 7:30 or 8, so I stopped by happy hour for about 20 minutes.  I was excited to see Kinsley and Damien there, and even more excited when they said they wanted to join our camping trip.

After I left, I stopped at the grocery store and liquor store to pick up supplies for the weekend.  Because we'd be leaving so late, nothing in the small town nearest the cabin would be open, so we had to bring everything we wanted with us.  When I got home I packed up our big cooler and then packed my bag for the weekend.  Brody got home at 8 and I heated up some leftovers for dinner while he packed, then we ate and were out the door by 8:45.

On the way, we talked wedding planning for awhile.  I listed the things we still had to do and watched the faces that Brody made.  "I'm really glad we decided on a small wedding and short engagement," he said.  "I can't even imagine how much more we'd have to do if we were doing a big wedding."

"Yeah, it hasn't been too bad so far," I replied.  "The worst part was getting all the big things lined up, and we did that right away.  Oh, speaking of getting things lined up, how's honeymoon planning going?"  Brody hadn't mentioned it since he'd volunteered to do it, and I was very curious what he was planning.

I saw him smirk even in the dark.  "Honeymoon has been planned and booked since a week after we talked about it," he answered.  "And no, I'm not telling you where we're going."

"Do I ever get to find out?" I asked.  "I mean, before we leave."

"Maybe," he replied, shrugging.

"Well I'll need to know what to pack," I pointed out.

"As little clothing as possible," he responded, grinning.

I chuckled and rolled my eyes.  "You're ridiculous."

"I'm sort of serious, actually.  I anticipate spending a lot of time on the beach.  And in bed."

"If you're lucky," I teased him.

He glanced at me and winked, which he could actually pull off without looking like an idiot.  "I usually am."

I shook my head. "So it's a beach vacation," I mused, trying to elicit another hint.  I was so bad at waiting.

"It is," he agreed.  "Don't worry, I'll make sure you know what to pack."

"I wish I hadn't even brought it up, this is going to drive me nuts," I said.

"Don't bother trying to figure it out," he replied.  "I'd be shocked if you did, and you'll ruin the fun."

I huffed out an impatient breath and made a face at him, then relaxed back into my seat.  He was probably right, and having it be a surprise was kind of fun.  

By the time we made it to the cabin, it was nearly 10:30 and it was all we could do to get our stuff inside and get things moved from the cooler to the fridge.  Brody got in the shower while I got ready for bed, and by the time he climbed into bed next to me, I was almost asleep.  Brody moved over towards me and fit his body to mine, wrapping his arm around me.  "Three whole days with nothing to do and no cell service," he murmured. "I might even sleep in tomorrow."

I laughed.  "You should, it's amazing."

"I know," he replied.  "I used to do it all the time.  I miss it."

It was a wonderfully cool night up here and Brody had opened the bedroom window.  I listened to the night sounds outside until I fell asleep.

I slept soundly all night--no nightmares, no middle of the night wake ups.  It was bright and cold in the room when I woke up.  We'd left the curtains open to let in the cool, crisp mountain air.  Next to me, Brody was still fast asleep.  I carefully got out of bed and crept into the bathroom.  When I came out, I went to the window and eased it closed as quietly as possible, then tugged the curtains shut.  The room darkened considerably, and I shivered as I got back in bed.  It was much colder in here this morning than it had been when we went to bed.  Brody stirred and smiled sleepily at me.  "Sorry," I said softly.  "It's freezing in here, I had to shut the window."

"It did get a little cold," he agreed.  "Come here."  I moved closer to him and rolled onto my side, shivering again until he pressed his warm body against mine and wrapped his arm tightly around me.  "You are cold," he commented, pressing his cheek against my cold ear.  I nodded and pulled the blanket up to my chin, already warmer.  "How'd you sleep?"

"Amazingly well," I said.  "I don't think I moved the entire night."

"Me too," he agreed.  "And it's so nice to not have to be in a hurry to get out of bed and get something accomplished.  We should do this more often.  I've hardly even used this place since I bought it."

"We should," I replied.  "Even if we just come up late on a Friday, or even just spend Saturday and Sunday."  Selfishly, I loved coming here because neither of us got cell phone reception and there was no internet, so we spent the whole weekend enjoying each other's company without distraction.

As if reading my mind, Brody said, "I'm looking forward to spending the whole weekend with you without work getting in the way."

"Thank you for taking today off so we could get away for a few days," I said, finally untucking my cold hands from under my chin and finding his hand.

Now much warmer, I fell back asleep for a little while.  When I woke again, it was to Brody's lips against my shoulder.  "Mmm," I murmured groggily as his mouth moved towards my neck.  "That feels good."  I woke up slowly as Brody's hands slid over my body and he kissed and gently sucked on my neck.  When he found the spot on my neck that made me shiver, he stayed there, changing from lightly teasing my skin with the tip of his tongue to sucking to gently biting.  I moaned softly as his hand moved between my legs, stroking me lightly over my shorts.  I quickly wiggled out of them, kicking them to the bottom of the bed.

Brody kept his mouth locked against my neck as he slowly eased into me.  We spent the next 45 minutes having the slowest, laziest, most perfectly relaxed sex, then another hour and a half laying in bed, alternating between dozing and talking about random things.  When we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, we headed straight for the shower, where we somehow managed to get clean eventually.  We didn't emerge from the bedroom until almost noon.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked Brody as we made a very late breakfast together.

"Nothing," he replied.  "I want to spend the entire day doing absolutely nothing."  

And that's what we did.  We ate our breakfast out on the deck.  It was much warmer now, and I was comfortable in yoga pants and a sweatshirt.  After breakfast, we sat on the deck for hours talking, reading, and just sitting and enjoying the sun.  We grilled salmon, veggies, and potatoes for dinner, then Brody made a fire in the fire pit while I did the breakfast and dinner dishes.  Then I grabbed a bottle of wine, and we spent the rest of the evening sharing the bottle of wine while we sat by the fire.  It was the perfect start to the weekend.